Helpful Hippos Assist Baby Duck Who Fell Into Their Pool

The hippopotamus looks like a harmless, oversized cow to some people, but in reality they’re one of Africa’s most dangerous beasts – killing more humans than any other animal found on the continent. They can weight up to 9,000 pounds and have teeth that are razor sharp.

That’s why this story is more than a bit surprising. At the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands, A little duck got into a rather tough spot, falling into the hippos’ pool. A visitor to the zoo, locally known as Diergaarde Blijdorp, filmed the tiny duck repeatedly attempting to jump from the embankment to the shore, but falling short of making it over the edge. The duck’s mother could be seen hopelessly watching and waiting in the distance.

The little duck struggled and struggled, but despite all of her hard efforts, she just couldn’t leap up and make it over the barrier. One would think that the ending to this tale wouldn’t have been a good one – at least for the duckling.

But instead of enjoying an easy meal, the pools’ hippo inhabitants turned out to be extremely hospitable. The seemingly friendly creatures, at least in this instance, approached, and paused, as if they were trying to figure out what to do. After a few moments, the pair of hippos guided their new feathered friend along with their snouts just before appearing to lift her over the edge- after which, she ran back to mom.